


11:50 a.m.

by CaseyBenSullivan, weekendgothgirl



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Age Difference, Bandom crossover, Bonding, Confessions, Crossover, Crushes, First Kiss, M/M, Revelations, Summer of Like, Warped Tour 2005
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 09:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2462498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaseyBenSullivan/pseuds/CaseyBenSullivan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/weekendgothgirl/pseuds/weekendgothgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All summer, Patrick and Gerard have watched Pete and Mikey get closer while admiring each other from afar. Things are about to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	11:50 a.m.

Patrick's up early. Of course, 'early' is relative, especially during Warped and especially near the end of the summer. It's just short of noon, and Mikey Way from My Chem is sleeping in Pete's bunk, while Pete is lazily typing on his phone where it's resting on Mikey's stomach. Everyone else is asleep too, so Patrick only says "I'm going out" for Pete's benefit, although Pete doesn't actually seem to hear him. Once out in the heat, Patrick shields his eyes against the sun, and makes his way toward the My Chem bus. Maybe the guys are awake. At the moment, though, the only person he cares about being awake is Gerard.

He finally reaches My Chem's bus and knocks on the door. Not too loud, because he doesn't want to wake people up if they're all asleep. If they are, maybe he can find someone else to hang out with. He's hoping someone's awake here, though. My Chem is his favorite band to hang out with, especially when Gerard's around.

Gerard yawns, finishing his tenth cup of coffee as he throws his pen on his sketch book. He groans softly as he drags fingers through his hair; he'd had a rough night, barely an hour's sleep, before his brain decided to keep him up. Blearily, he pushes himself to his feet to grab another cup of coffee. If the guys were awake, then it wouldn't be so bad. At least he'd have people to distract him. Sighing, he pours coffee into his mug and hopes this next drink will wake him up.

Gerard's gazing at the wall blankly as he sips his drink when a light knock at the door startles him. He's not expecting anyone to turn up - well, not unless it's Mikey, sneaking back to his own bunk. Rolling his eyes, he pushes away from the counter and makes his way to the door. Fingers curled around the door handle, he's about to say something as he opens the door, but stops short. It's not Mikey on the step, but Patrick.

"Gerard! Hey," Patrick says, belatedly attempting to be casual. He wants to twist his hat in his hands, but his hat is on his head, so all he can do is squeeze his hands together a little and try not to look too relieved. He likes Ray and Frank and Bob well enough, but he *really* likes Gerard. He's sure Pete would've been teasing him about it all summer if it weren't for the thing he has going on with Mikey. "Hey, I, so, your brother's over at our bus so I figured I should come over and even things out, you know. Clever." Patrick chuckles at himself before realizing that he just said the word 'clever' out loud. Ugh, he can be such an idiot sometimes. "I mean, I was trying to be clever. Not really though. I mean, I'm not really clever. Can I come in?"

Gerard smiles as he nods, shaking himself out of his surprise. "Sure, come on in." He laughs lightly as he steps back and sweeps his hand towards the couch. The bus is kind of messy and he wishes he'd cleaned up a little, but Patrick's seen it worse. Gerard closes the door behind Patrick, tongue sliding over his lower lip as Patrick brushes against his chest. "Uh, it's just me awake."

"I... oh."

Patrick needs a minute just to take everything in. For a few seconds, the smell of the My Chem bus supercedes everything else, but then, yeah, the glimpse of Gerard's tongue against his lips has Patrick's attention. He quickly looks away before he can do something stupid or rude, like stare creepily at Gerard's mouth.

"Yeah, it's the same at, at my bus. I mean, except for Pete, he's not, he never sleeps, but Mikey calms him down some, so that's good." Patrick smiles brightly at that, despite his nerves; it always makes him happy to think of the effect Mikey has on Pete, the effect they have on each other. Mikey's been good for Pete, and Patrick can only hope it's true the other way around. "I'm not interrupting you or anything, am I?"

Gerard nods to himself with a smile. He's glad that Mikey and Pete hit it off. Mikey deserves to be happy.

"Nah, I couldn't sleep so I've been drawing. Honestly it'll be nice to have some company. You know, that's awake."

"Yeah? Mikey mentioned you like to draw," Patrick muses. He smiles and makes his way to the offered sofa. It's cluttered with random stuff, but he doesn't see anything gross on it. "Comics or something?"

"Yeah, comics," Gerard murmurs, surprised to think that Patrick would remember something like that. He settles onto the couch beside Patrick and shrugs. "Not just comics, though. I draw other things too."

"Yeah?" Patrick looks around, thinking maybe Gerard just happens to have some of his art lying around. "Like what?"

"Uh..." Gerard shifts, embarrased, but passes his sketch book to Patrick. "Like this."

Patrick starts flipping through the sketch pad, and what he sees is virtually a scrapbook of Warped '05 - but in sketch form. Gerard's drawn scenes from nearly every venue, from bands performing onstage to fans browsing the merch booths. As he gets deeper into the sketch book, the drawings start to feature fewer people, and they seem to get more personal. Patrick stops at one that makes him smile - a sketch of Mikey sitting in Pete's lap, far too tall to be the one in the other's lap, but somehow, the two of them manage it without looking overly awkward. Mikey and Pete - they both look happy. Gerard really captured the glow they have when they're together.

Gerard glances on the page that seems to have captured Patrick's attention for longer than usual. He smiles at the image, the memory coming back as clear as if it was yesterday. It was actually the first time they were together after admitting how they felt to their bands. It's a happy memory for another reason too. It was the first time Patrick stayed up all night talking to him, even after the others had peeled off to go to sleep.

Patrick starts to turn to another page, but he just wants to keep looking at the picture. With a sigh, he takes his finger off the corner of the page and sits back, settling the book in his lap and just taking in every detail. Gerard is a really good artist, so good that Patrick is deep in thought about the actual people in the picture.

"Never thought I'd see the day," Patrick admits, glancing over at Gerard. "I think Pete's in love." It's a little weird to realize that, never mind say it. Patrick, well, he falls in love all the time, not just with people, but with things, with ideas. He falls in love and Pete doesn't, not really, not until now. There's a part of Patrick that doesn't get it - doesn't get the appeal of Mikey, doesn't get what's so awesome about him - but mostly, Patrick just knows that different people are attracted to different things. So maybe Patrick doesn't get *Mikey*, but he gets love, and that's the part that matters.

"I know Mikey is." Gerard brushes his finger over the drawing of his brother with a nostalgic smile. "He told me just what Pete means to him. I didn't think Mikey'd get so intense, so quickly. Usually that's what I do. Mikey's more of a slow burning type of love."

Patrick laughs. "I can't say that about Pete. I mean, maybe the burning part, but he doesn't do anything slow. Not if he can help it." Patrick takes his attention away from the sketch pad to look at Gerard instead. "I don't think his brain ever stops. Mikey said..." Patrick cuts himself off for a second, because he's about to mention Gerard through Mikey again. Is he too obvious? Probably, but Gerard probably won't notice anyway. Gerard'll probably think he's just being friendly. "He said you're like that sometimes."

"That my brain doesn't stop?" Gerard looks at Patrick consideringly, then nods. "Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes I have so much happening in my head that I don't realize I'm not looking after myself properly. Or like last night, I just can't sleep." Shrugging, Gerard toys with a loose thread in his pajama pants. "I'm just glad I have the guys to look out for me. Just like Pete has with you."

Patrick blushes and a little and glances away, trying not to smile. He really does try to look out for his guys, even if he is the baby of the group. Not that anyone but his own band knows that, though, and possibly Mikey by now. It depends. Patrick doubts that Pete and Mikey spend much time talking about *him*. If Patrick had a boyfriend, he wouldn't spend all his time talking about Pete. The thought makes Patrick laugh a little. It relaxes him a little, too, enough that he turns to Gerard and offers him a friendly, if shy, little smile.

"Well, you can have me too, if you want," Patrick says, and his ears burn when he realizes how that came out. That's not - that's not what he meant to say or how he meant to say it, and although it's not untrue, Gerard doesn't necessarily need to know that. Patrick hurries to cover up with a nervous, "I mean, have me to look out for you, I mean. I look out for all my friends. You're my - you're my friend too." Great, Patrick thinks. Now he's going to have to kill himself or risk dying of embarrassment.

Gerard ducks and nods. "Yeah I'd like that. I would offer you the same but it's not quite a fair deal. Still, if you want me to, I'd look out for you too." Clearing his throat, Gerard looks down and bites at his lip. He can't say that he isn't disappointed, but having Patrick in any way is a bonus. He just wishes that it was in a different way.

"What are you talking about? Sure it's a fair deal," Patrick says confidently. He may not be the most confident person himself, but he has confidence in other people. "Besides, we're going to need to look out for each other now that Pete and Mikey are in their own little world, you know?"

"That's true." Gerard glances at the picture he drew again and sighs. "It's weird not having Mikey to talk to all the time. Like, he's dated before, but he's never been as invested as he is with Pete." Glancing at Patrick, he adds, "In a weird way, I'm kind of jealous."

"Yeah, I get that." Patrick looks down at the sketch pad in his lap again. Yeah, he's a little jealous himself, even while he's happy for Pete. It's natural, he guesses. Patrick passes the sketch pad back to Gerard and looks up at the ceiling, absently scratching at his arm. "Jealous of the love... and the sex," he admits, his face heating up a bit, but he's not looking at Gerard, so he's not completely embarrassed. "I haven't gotten laid in... God, I can't remember how long."

"Really? That surprises me, dude, I'd have thought people would be drawn to you." Gerard glances at the floor as he tries not to think about Patrick in compromising positions. Fuck, he can't help but imagine it, though. Patrick would look amazing in the heat of passion. 

Patrick laughs, surprised, a little hoarse with it. "What? No way," he denies, shaking his head. Gerard's just trying to be nice. "No one wants the fat guy with the big sideburns and weird hats. Anyone sleeps with me, it's just because they think I'm a 'nice guy' or a pity fuck or whatever. Or else they just sleep with me to get to Pete or Andy," Patrick says, a little more softly, wrapping his arms around himself. He doesn't hold it against Pete or Andy, just the people who use him to get to them. Patrick chuckles bitterly. "Maybe I should cover myself in tattoos and get a personal trainer. Then everyone would come running, right?"

"No, you shouldn't ever have to change yourself. I like you as you are." Gerard looks straight forward at the TV, half hoping Patrick understands what he's saying and half hoping he doesn't. "And for what it's worth, I don't think you're the fat guy with big sideburns and weird hats. I think you're Patrick and anyone would be lucky to have you."

Gerard pauses, gathering his thoughts before adding, "I know how you feel though. If I get laid it's only because I'm the singer in a band or they think it'll get them to one of the other guys. You know, you'd be amazed the amount of people that'll sleep with someone to get to their brother."

"Ewww." Patrick laughs again, but this time, it's with genuine amusement. He really, really shouldn't be amused by that, but for some reason, he is.

When Patrick finally manages to stop laughing (after not too long, he hopes), he turns to Gerard with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry," he says, shaking his head. He can't seem to stop smiling, so he puts his hand on Gerard's arm to show his solidarity. "I shouldn't be laughing, but it's just - I don't know, man, people fucking suck, you know? And that's - that's one reason I realized this thing with Mikey was real, you know, with Pete. Most people who just want guys who are hot or famous or whatever want Pete *and* Andy, but Mikey couldn't be less into him. Into Andy, I mean. He's super into Pete. As we both know," Patrick mutters, fondly rolling his eyes. "And hey - at least Pete didn't sleep with you to get to Mikey, am I right?" Patrick laughs again, just not as ridiculously this time.

"That's something, I guess." Gerard laughs and wrinkles his nose. "I love Pete like a brother but dude, no. I couldn't sleep with him. So not my type." 

"Really?" Patrick's a little surprised. Not surprised enough that he doesn't notice how cute Gerard looks with his face scrunched up like that, but surprised nonetheless. "I could've sworn you were into short guitarists with too much energy and a ton of tattoos." And just in case Gerard doesn't know what he's talking about, Patrick adds, "I've seen what you do up there with Frank. That's not just for show, is it? You guys haven't... you know...?"

Gerard starts, surprised, but shrugs. "It's more a connection thing for me. Frank's hot, but there's so much more to him than that." He pauses for a moment considering what to say next. He licks his lips before adding, "No, it's not just for show. We have done stuff but it wasn't- it was just an addition to our relationship that sometimes we ended up together."

"Oh." Patrick draws his eyebrows together in concentration as he tries to figure out what that means, but he's not really sure. "So are you - are you together?" Patrick realizes his hand is still on Gerard's arm and he takes it away, not wanting to be untoward.

Gerard frowns as Patrick takes his hand away. "No." He shakes his head. "We aren't. It was more a friends with benefits situation out of a mutual need and respect." 

"Oh... okay. That's, that's kinda deep." Patrick folds his hands in his lap and glances over at Gerard, a shy smile on his face. "It's cool that you guys can still be friends. Not a lot of people can pull that off."

"I think that's more Frank being cool and having a deep friendship. Sex was just an added bonus for when we needed some human companionship." Gerard smiles and ducks his head, a moment from the past raising to the surface of his mind.

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Patrick agrees with a wistful sigh. He could use some human companionship, especially when he has to see Pete and Mikey happy together all the time.

"Yeah, of course I've found other ways of distracting myself since we stopped." Gerard gestures at his scattered art supplies and notebooks with scribbled lyrics in them.

"Of c... oh," Patrick mutters, blushing. Gerard's words had immediately brought to mind jerking off, but it's clear Gerard wasn't talking about that. "Yeah, you did a good job too. You've got real talent, you know."

"Thanks, I just practice a lot." Glancing over at Patrick, Gerard murmurs, "You know, I'd like to draw you one day."

Patrick looks up in surprise. "You would? Why?"

"I think you'd be amazing to draw. You have beautifully expressive eyes." Gerard bites his lip, hoping Patrick will just think it a friendly compliment or artistic fact.

Patrick's face is hot and he can't stop smiling, and at first he averts his gaze, but he finds the courage to look at Gerard and meet his eyes. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Gerard was interested in him, but that's not possible. Gerard's way out of his league, far too attractive to be attracted to someone like him. Although he did say earlier that he didn't see Patrick as 'the fat guy', but... but Gerard was just being nice, right?

"You... you've spent time looking at my eyes?" he asks, and if he sounds a little dumbfounded, it's because he is. Gerard's not only looked at his eyes, but he finds them 'expressive'. To the point where Gerard wants to draw them. Patrick really, really hopes he's not just grasping at straws here, but history has taught him not to be too hopeful in situations like this.

"Uh, yeah." Gerard shifts, but can't take his eyes away from Patrick's. He swallows hard and tries not to panic. He takes a moment to just breathe and feel the shift in atmosphere. It feels more charged, more close, and all he can think is that this could change everything. He can feel Patrick's gaze hot on him and he has a feeling he isn't the only one that feels this way. He just needs to be brave and take a chance.

He scrambles for the right words and a part of him laughs at the effort. His brain tells him he's a lyricst, he should be able to deal with this but this is real life. "Sometimes I can't stop myself from staring. Your eyes are deep and wise."

Patrick ducks his gaze, but only for a second. He's still smiling when he says, "That means a lot, especially coming from you." He's not sure he believes it, but he's not about to argue with Gerard Way.

"I mean it, your eyes seem so much older than you. It intrigues me." 

"Do they?" Patrick's chest tightens a little with the guilt of a lie that he hasn't quite told. Everyone thinks he's older than he is, and Gerard thinks he seems even older than that. "How old do you think I am?"

"I don't know, maybe..." Gerard looks Patrick over, "a young 25?"

"Well, you've got the young part right," Patrick says. He wrings his hands a little, uncertain. "Most people don't know how old I actually I am."

Oh, this doesn't sound good. Fuck. Gerard's eyes widen and he turns to look at Patrick properly. "How old are you really?"

Patrick sighs. The thing is, he doesn't want to lie to Gerard. Well, he doesn't want to lie to anyone, but he never would've gotten where he was today if he'd been up front about his age. Even now, if people do the math, certain things could come into question.

"Look, you can't tell anyone, okay? I'm... I just turned 21."

Gerard coughs as he tries to get over his surprise. "21?"

Patrick nods, resigned to the fact that Gerard now knows he's a liar and way too young to be where he is today. "Yeah."

"Wow. I- you've fooled me." Leaning back, he lets out a breath. It's not as bad as he'd feared for a second, but surely a guy as young as Patrick wouldn't want to date him. Shit, he isn't even sure he should do anything now.

"I didn't mean to," Patrick says earnestly. "Some things are just... better off with people not knowing."

"I understand." Gerard lays his hand on Patrick's arm, thumb rubbing over bare skin. "It must be hard keeping that to yourself. Do the guys know?"

Patrick twitches a little, but only because he's surprised to feel Gerard's touch on his bare skin. Patrick licks his lips and nods. "Yeah, I couldn't keep it from them forever. They're good friends. They were a little upset, but they understood. They're good guys."

Nodding, Gerard smiles, pleased. "I'm glad that you've got bandmates that can stick by you like that." After a few moments he asks, "How did you celebrate?"

"Um, well..." Patrick chuckles at the memory, but he looks away, not sure what to say to Gerard. There was a lot of drinking involved, and that kind of stuff isn't really cool with the My Chem crew. Not that Patrick blames them, after everything that happened with Mikey and Gerard. "We may've had a drink or two."

"That's how most people celebrate their 21st. That's how I celebrated mine," Gerard says, smiling as he takes his hand away from Patrick's arm.

Patrick reaches for Gerard's hand as he pulls it away. He didn't really plan to do that, but now it's done, so he leaves his hand where it is, covering Gerard's. He's not sure what to say, though, so he just squeezes Gerard's hand, smiling.

Gerard looks down at their joined hands in surprise but squeezes back happily.

"So." Patrick smiles at Gerard and squeezes his hand again. He figures now's as good a time as any to get back to what they were originally talking about. "If manic guitarists aren't your type, then what is? You like drummers?" he teases, and hopes that's not it, either. He hopes Gerard likes him.

"Nope." Chuckling, Gerard slides a little closer to Patrick. He isn't sure this is the best idea he's had, but seven years isn't that big of an age gap, and they're both in their twenties. More than anything, though, Patrick is smart. Gerard likes that in a person. "I told you, it's more the connection I have with someone. If I had to chose, though... Calmer guitarists and singers usually turn me on. Someone that can use their voice *and* fingers. Who'd want anything else?"

Patrick feels kind of warm all over, warm and happy. Gerard is definitely flirting with him. Patrick feels confident now that he can flirt back with him without *too* much risk of getting rejected.

"Oh, I don't know," Patrick says. He rubs his thumb along Gerard's knuckles, smiling thoughtfully to himself, studying the contrast because his hand and Gerard's. Patrick's hand is a lot chubbier than Gerard's, but their skin is equally pale. It's a little surreal, considering he's usually the whitest person in a room. Gerard doesn't even have a little bit of a tan. "It doesn't bother me that you don't play guitar."

Patrick lifts his gaze to Gerard's. There's no hiding now.

"Really?" Gerard's eyebrow lifts and a smile plays over his lips. "Would it surprise you that I do play the guitar? I suck, but I do play." 

Patrick laughs softly. "Guess that doesn't bother me, either."

Gerard watches Patrick laugh, his chest tight with happiness. "Good, I'm glad." 

"I'm glad you're glad." Patrick can't help but feel a little silly right now, but hey, he's kind of rusty when it comes to the whole flirting thing. At least he still has a sense of humor. "So uh... you wanna go to a concert with me sometime or something?" he asks with a grin.

Gerard chuckles and nods, his hair falling in his eyes. He pushes his hair out of his face. "Yeah, I think we can do that." Glancing down at their still joined hands, Gerard has to ask. "Is it too easy if we skip it for now, though?"

"You mean, you wanna skip to the fun part?" Patrick grins. It's hard to believe this is really happening, but between the butterflies in his stomach and the warmth of Gerard's hand in his, he knows it's all real.

"Oh yeah, who wouldn't want to with you?" Gerard swallows before pressing against Patrick, lips almost touching as he whispers, "Okay?"

Patrick has his lips pressed to Gerard's before he can answer - but maybe he doesn't have to. Not in words. He just hums against Gerard's mouth and goes on kissing him, feeling more content than he has since Warped began and he had to witness Pete and Mikey's love story, all while going to bed alone. Maybe he won't necessarily get into Gerard's bunk tonight, but at least he has someone special, just like Pete and Mikey have each other.

Gerard hums happily, wrapping his arms around Patrick and holding him close as they settle into a rhythm together. Fuck, he's losing himself in all the new sensations that come with kissing Patrick. He can't wait to learn every part of the man in his arms.


End file.
